By Chance
by venus hawthorne
Summary: AU. Sakura had always thought that Itachi was perfect, whether she was dating him or not, and no one could change her mind. Especially not this guy who looks like he's 70. ItaSakuKaka (Rating may change)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first fanfiction I've written in a while, and my first attempt at a multi-chaptered one. Please be kind and leave some comments and/or criticism! (Also, I haven't really decided what the pairing is. If you have a preference or a comment about it, please leave a review!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

**Chapter 1**

She could feel the path of her tears running down her face, over the curve of her nose, and ending on the pillow, damping the material. It was over. It was really over. _How did this even happen? Everything was fine yesterday and suddenly with just a click nothing's the same anymore._ Her trembling figure unfurled on the single bed, her mind overflowing with fragments of memories.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

She stared at her phone, shocked that she received a reply from the last person in the world she'd thought would remember her.

'Sorry, it's my ID and I'll need it.'

It didn't even sink in that he refused her request; what mattered was the fact that he replied. He replied, after a year of no contact. It would've been an exaggeration to say she was crying but it would be pretty close to how she felt right now. She didn't realize her past feelings for him ran this deep.

_Should I reply?_

Yes.

'No problem. Thanks anyway.'

That one reply was what started it all. Again.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

'Hey, since it's Tuesday, wanna go catch a movie? Since last time our plan wasn't so successful..'

The first… hangout? Date? Date. Hell yes she wanted to go.

A week ago, they had made plans to watch a movie, but closer to the day, they found out it had already been removed from the theatres and replaced with an extremely popular movie that took up four theatres on its own. _Stupid Harry Potter._

Ever since that fateful message a month ago, she and Itachi—the man that she had feelings for since the beginning—had a regular texting relationship. They told each other about their days and about the interesting things happening in their lives, becoming each other's small confidant and the first person they wanted to share anything with.

Sakura met Itachi when she was in high school and he was introduced as her best friend's older brother. The moment she laid her eyes on him, she knew that all her future boyfriends would be compared to this unearthly person in front of her. He had the height, perfect hair and wrinkles that somehow made him better looking than not. And his eyes, unlike Sasuke's that were more dark brown than not, were so dark that she never realized there was a slight red tinge to them until they walked into the courtyard and she saw them from the perfect angle in the sunlight by chance. _Guess he got all the genes._

After that, she had only caught glimpses of him through the crowded hallways. On the rare occasions they made eye contact, he would nod his acknowledgement to her and she would do the same in return. And that was it, the extent of his and her relationship.

But one day after a date gone badly, he had seen her and come over to where she was sitting in a quaint coffee shop. For the first time since she met him years ago, they had made conversation. She was surprised he could be so charming and funny when all Sasuke had told her about him was that he was a perfect scholar, a robot; he was head of class, president of the student council and basketball captain, which was quite a feat. Now that she thought about it, it might've been because his parents favored his brother over him.

After she ordered another latte—one that he paid for—they had stayed until closing. She stood up and thanked him for the company; he really had made her day that much better. Taking a few steps, she had almost made it to the door when he called out.

"Let me drive you home."

And so, he drove her home, in his black Audi. _Well-off family, good genes, and a good brain. Some people just have everything don't they._

A gentleman through and through, he parked in her driveway and walked her up the front steps to her door. They stood there for a minute, bathing in the silence. There was no tension but she still tried to think of something to say. Before she could force anything out, he spoke, in the quiet, smooth voice of his.

"You're not what I thought you'd be like, Sakura. And I'm rarely wrong."

She gave him what she thought was a coy smile to hide the quickening of her heartbeat, hoping he couldn't read her as well as she thought he could.

"I'm just full of surprises aren't I?" she laughed.

"Indeed."

They stood for a few more seconds in silence until he spoke a quiet "Goodnight, Sakura" and turned to leave. Unconsciously, she reached out and lightly tugged on his sleeve. When he turned around, she kissed him on the cheek and let go.

"Thanks for the ride, Itachi. Goodnight."

And she knew then that Uchiha Itachi meant more to her than just her best friend's older brother.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A year later, Sakura received a call from an unknown number. She expected it to stop after a few seconds, believing it to be someone calling the wrong number, but when it kept ringing she decided to pick up. She has never had any prank callers and there was the occasional stranger calling her by accident—she never picked those up after the first time she did and it was a drunken man on the other end. So she didn't know what made her pick up this time; maybe it was the fact that this person was insistent; maybe it was the odd hour (who calls at two in the morning? Well, other than Naruto that is), maybe it was the feeling that she had seen this number before, and maybe, just maybe, she felt it was more than chance that she was still up due to an assignment for her phil class. She was not the type to leave her things for last minute but circumstances haven't been kind on her this week.

She had never been so glad to go with her heart instead of her head.

"Hello?"

"Sakura?"

It was him. Uchiha Itachi was calling her in the middle of the night—for who knows why, but he was calling **her**.

"Yes?"

"It's Itachi."

"I know." _I would recognize your voice anywhere._

"Are you busy right now?"

She glanced at the empty document save the title on her laptop screen.

"Nope, not at all. What's up?"

That night was the first of many that Sakura stayed up all night, by chance, for an almost stranger, for the almost stranger that slowly stole her heart.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Two years later, Itachi still called, and she still answered.

Sakura knew it was hard being him. She remembered when he was still in high school; all the girls had a crush on him, whether it was because he was good looking, or smart or because he was an Uchiha, which automatically put him in the desirable category. She knew because at one point she was one of them, though she'd like to think that she liked him for reasons deeper than the fact that she found him attractive. Now she was twenty and he was twenty-three, and things still haven't changed. _Even in university, this guy has girls chasing after him from every possible angle. _She shook her head, laughing to herself.

From his tone and his words Sakura could tell he really liked this girl. He seemed distraught, and for once, didn't sound like he knew what he could do to fix this. _Lucky girl…_

Itachi has had his share of girlfriends, maybe even lovers. Sakura knew. And every single time he did, Sakura felt a little pain at the fact that Itachi now had someone to focus his attention on, to shower his gifts and surprises, instead of her. Sakura, whom he calls at least once a week. Sakura, whom he spills his heart's deepest secrets to. Sakura, who was always there for him when he needed her. And in turn, Itachi was there for her, during her breakups, during her depression after her father was diagnosed with tuberculosis and passed away shortly after, and even during her fight with Sasuke, he sided with her, telling her Sasuke was an idiot for letting his feelings come between their friendship. Little did Itachi know that he was the cause for Sakura rejecting his little brother.

She supposed that there were multiple barriers that she had to get through before he even considered dating her; 1. She was three years younger, 2. She was his little brother's best friend, 3. Thus she was his little sister as well. And perhaps she knew just a bit too much about his personal life. But that wasn't her fault.

She was brought back from her thoughts when Itachi called her name.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"…you didn't hear a thing I said did you."

"Ehehe.."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Of course Sakura didn't let her feelings for Itachi stop her from testing the other fish in the sea. There wasn't a shortage of guys that were attracted to her and occasionally she was interested in them enough to start dating them. There were even a few guys that were close enough for her to say she loved them, but never had they come close to what she felt for Itachi.

When they ended badly, the first one Sakura called was Itachi. Not Sasuke. Not Naruto. Not even Ino. Itachi—which was ironic, as he had unintentionally become the reason she broke up with anyone.

"Sakura?"

"I-Itachi.." she managed to say in between her sniffles.

"What's wrong? Did what's-his-face do something?"

"There's i-isn't a what's-his-f-face anym-more. We're done.."

"I'm so sorry." She could almost hear him frown, if that were possible. She knew that anyone that hurt her would be at the top of his hit list; he did care for her, though she wished it was in another form.

"It's o-o-k-kay, I had a feeling it was c-coming." _Especially when I thought of Itachi instead of him when we were in bed.._

"Don't worry, there are other fish in the sea."

No, there was really only one. And he was a piranha.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The following year, there was not a peep from Itachi. No calls in the middle of the night, no text messages from him, and not even a sight of him when Sakura went over to Sasuke's. She made sure to pretend to be looking at the paintings or the trinkets Sasuke's parents had around the house whenever she was over to hide the fact that she was actually looking any signs of long, silky black hair, or dark red eyes. Sasuke never seemed to notice, and even if he did he didn't mention anything to her. She offhandedly wondered whether or not Sasuke knew about her relationship with his brother, but thought better than to ask considering only a while ago Sasuke and Sakura had what everyone dubbed "the debacle".

For several months after they had lost all contact, Sakura thought of nothing but him. Where was he? Why was he avoiding her? She contemplated an endless amount of questions, and that was how she got through most of second year at university.

And finally, when she thought that the Itachi-phase was ending, something knocks that option out the window.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, have you started the that research paper for biochem yet?" Ino asked.

"Nope, haven't even been able to find a topic yet."

"Seriously? It's due in two weeks, you know."

"Yup, I know." She nods, chuckling. "I probably knew that better than you."

"I really don't understand how out of the two of us, **you're** the smart one. It's not fair that you spend so little time on assignments and get a better grade than I do."

Sakura laughed loudly now. "Too bad, it's not my fault I have eidetic memory."

They continued their conversation as they walked out of the lecture hall to the student union building. Ino chattered on, whining about Sakura's intellectual capabilities, while Sakura found her mind drifting and ignoring the loud blonde she called her friend.

That stupid, stupid assignment. Of course Sakura wasn't the kind of person to leave assignments for later, but this one was an exception. Sakura had long since figured out the structure, the topic and even the number of pages for her research paper, but she had one major problem.

For the assignment, Sakura was planning on researching how the bacteria in the human body were affected if humans ingested the wrong antibiotics. She thought it was a good topic as it was also related to what she wanted to do in the future—a doctor—and would be helpful in the medical field. However, after searching most of the science libraries on campus, she realized there were very little books with enough information for her to use in her paper. Thus, she came to the conclusion that she most likely had to use the med library to find enough resources for this assignment to be completed.

Unlike other buildings, the med building required a swipe card to enter the building, and even if she managed to get in, the library used a different card to check out books. So she had to either steal it (_pfft, as if_), or she could ask someone to help her. And she only knew one person in medicine.

Itachi.

She inwardly groaned. _How could I possibly have thought I was done with that guy? _She couldn't conclude whether or not she was lucky that he was still in the last year of medical school so she could ask him, or if that meant she was unlucky since now that she knew she had this resource, she had to ask him. Or risk failing this assignment. And Haruno Sakura never, under any circumstances, failed anything school-related.

And that was why she was sitting on her bed, staring at her phone. The screen was open to a message, with the receiver filled in as "Uchiha Itachi." The message had already been typed, and the only thing left was to press send. Sakura had been at this stage for the last 5 minutes.

_I am really going to do this. _

No, it didn't matter that she hasn't talked to him in a year. Or that she still had latent feelings for him after all these years. It didn't even matter that she had texted him a few months ago to ask how he doing (she sent a very articulate "yoooo") and he failed to reply, thus making her feel she was an insignificant figure in his life.

Regardless, she was really going to do it.

Her fingers inched its way from her lap to the send button on her phone. Taking a deep breath, she applied some pressure. There was a beep tone from the phone, and she exhaled. _Well, now all I can do is wait. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

And he did reply. She didn't know what she would've done if he didn't. In addition to finishing her assignment and getting an A+ on it, she had her old friend back. Itachi was back.

In fact he was outside her house now.

"Sh*t!" she exclaimed loudly as she stubbed her toe on the corner of her bed as she scrambled around her room to grab her jeggings from her vanity. Today was the day, the date. And since she had made the plans in the morning til now in the evening, it had slipped her mind. How does that even happen?

After pulling her pants on, she checked herself in the full length mirror next to the vanity. Hair? Ok. Face? Good. Underwear or bra sticking out? No. Ready-to-go.

Since it was a movie date, she decided to go with something comfortable that she could spend hours sitting in. A pair of blue jeggings, a white v-neck shirt with a flowery design on the front and a peppered gray American Apparel jacket.

Various thoughts raced through her mind as she grabbed her keys and fast-walked out the front door.

_What if he doesn't like me as a friend anymore? What if I'm so unattractive that he's just gonna cancel on the spot? Oh my god, what if I smell so bad he feels like puking during the movies? That'll be awkward… Sh*t, what if it's just gonna be awkward, period?! _

Sakura stopped abruptly in her steps. There he was, standing next to his black Audi. She walked up to him, stopping when she was standing right in front of him, and looked into his dark red eyes, the eyes that she's missed. _I wonder if the shade of his eyes is the reason why my favorite color's red.._

"Hey."

She smiled. "Hey."

They spent the next few minutes just observing each other. She watched his eyes as they roved down her figure, starting from her hair, her face and ending at her feet, then back up to her eyes again. This made her face slightly pink and she felt her face warm up before she noticed something.

"Hey, you cut your hair!"

Sakura did not think it was possible for him to be even more attractive than before but she'd been proven wrong. The long ponytail no longer fell over his shoulder. Now his hair had been cut so that the longest strand barely reached his chin, and he also had shorter bangs that covered most of his forehead and longer ones that fell around his face.

He rolled his eyes upward as he reached a hand to touch his short bangs. "Yeah, I thought the long hair was too unprofessional, even tied up."

That's when she noticed what he was wearing—a sleek black suit (Prada she believed), with a solid light blue dress shirt and dress shoes, sans the vest and tie.

_Damn… _

And then Sakura realized what that meant, as she looked down at her own outfit and back to him. He seemed to do the same, and started chuckling. She laughed.

"Well, don't complain to me if you're uncomfortable the entire time."

"At least I'll look classy at the theatres," he replied back nonchalantly.

They smiled at each other.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After a trip to Seattle with a few of his friends, several hiking and water park trips, countless dinners, and one kiss, she and Itachi started dating. It was a new season, a new school year, and a new beginning.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey did you ever get a text from me about a year ago?"

"Which one?"

"Yooo."

"… Oh, so that really was from you."

"..What?"

"I thought it was one from one of your friends who stole your phone and decided to randomly text me."

"…"

"Sorry."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Come on slowpoke!"

"…"

"Are you mad?"

"…"

".. or are you just scared you'll fall on your butt."

"Uchihas are dignified beings who do not, as you put it, 'fall on their butts'."

"Oh, you big baby."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Sakura, are you sure you wouldn't like some coffee right about now?"

"Do I LOOK like what I freaking need is coffee right now?!"

"… Yes…"

"Well no. I don't. So get the f*ck out."

"… well I'm going to feed you some anyway."

"mmhph—AAH HOLY—"

"By the way—"

"IT'S BURNING."

"… yeah that."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Sakura entered Itachi's car after a long day at work, she caught a whiff of something. She strapped herself in, trying to figure out exactly what it was as Itachi lighted the ignition and started to drive out of the parking lot.

"Hey.."

"Hmm?"

"..What's that weird smell?"

She caught Itachi flinching slightly as she turned to inspect the source of the scent.

A bouquet.

She turned to look at him, and sighed before smiling.

"Oh you…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, I'm going to Japan."

"..what?"

"I got accepted, so I'm going to URC. It's at Waseda this year."

"No way.. actually, yes way. Wow! Congratulations!"

"I'll also be going to Taiwan and Hong Kong."

"For what?"

"Just for fun."

"… Well expect to be single when you get back."

"…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Three years. That's how long happiness lasted in Haruno Sakura's life.

She rolled over onto her right side, glancing at her cell. From the corner of her eye, she could see the open email message.

'Hey, I'm sorry..'


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Just wanted to say since it is AU, it's non-massacre. And thus, Itachi is not a withdrawn individual who is the king of seeming apathetic.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Sakura would be with someone by now.

**Chapter 2**

Hey, I'm sorry. I know this is mostly likely the worst way to break up, but I feel that I need to say this right now before I talk myself out of it; I am no longer in love with you.

I've realized after being away for the past two weeks that everything has changed. Our dates are not as fun, and neither is anything else we do. This time, I felt like it was okay to be away, and I did not miss you as much. I thought there had to be something wrong, that this feeling wasn't normal.

You know I would hurt anyone that makes you cry, but I had to do this. And I know that you will cry as you read this, but indeed, I have hurt myself. The fact that this letter exists is hurting me, but it has to be done. If this dragged out any longer, it would be disrespectful and more painful for you.

Thank you for the past three years of support, love and kindness. It meant the world to me, and I will never forget these fond memories. They have shaped me into the person I am-you have shaped me into the person I am.

I'm really sorry. I hope you forgive me. Take care.

Itachi

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, not realizing she had fallen asleep in her clothes. Her face felt stiff from the dry tears but she made no movement to get up; she would just cry again anyway. Looking out the window, she realized it was late, three in the morning perhaps? She slid her hand around the bed searching for her phone, remembering that she was looking at it before falling asleep. She finally managed to grasp it from floor and checked the alerts. Twenty messages and even more missed calls.

She got the gist of it after opening a few texts.

(04:08:34) 'Wanna go downtown tomorrow? Victoria's Secret's open!'

(07:24:56) 'Hey. Ino told me to text you. Are you okay?'

(07:30:12) 'Sakuraaaa, let's go have some ramen. Please, please?'

(09:49:05) 'SAKURA. ARE YOU DEAD? REPLY ASAP'

(10:05:55) ' … I swear if you're just doing this to mess with me…'

Sakura tossed her phone onto the night table. _Stupid best friends… _Once she told them, she would not be able to spend a quiet day alone. She shifted slightly so she could pull the covers over her and fell into deep sleep once more.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"How is it that I am not allowed to spend an afternoon with my best friend, yet you are able to take a girl downtown for dinner?!" Sakura yelled in frustration. Her hands itched to chuck a clock at his face.

Itachi merely stared her down, not fazed in the slightest.

"I know how close you are with your friends. On the other hand, I am nothing but a gentleman. There was no contact whatsoever, and she worked downtown so I thought it to be more convenient," he explained to her like she was a little kid.

"I don't CARE! And that wasn't the right thing to say; I told you I hate hypocrites, and you are being a gigantic one right now!"

"Uchihas are not hypocrites."

"ARRGH."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sakura heard the door creak open slowly. A sliver of light from the hallway shined in from the hallway momentarily before being blocked partly by a silhouette. She knew Itachi could see her through the darkness so she shifted to the left side of the bed, leaving him room.

Itachi padded lightly across the room and stopped when he reached her bed. Without opening her eyes, Sakura extended an arm and patted the spot next to her lightly. Itachi slipped under the covers wordlessly, facing her. Sakura felt the bed dip slightly under his weight and moved towards his warmth, snuggling into his chest as she felt his arm around the her waist, pulling her even closer.

They stayed in that position, and just as Sakura thought Itachi had drifted to sleep, his voice rang out clear as a bell.

"You were not completely wrong…" he whispered quietly into the silence.

Sakura smiled to herself, "I know."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Why do things like that matter so much to you? It wasn't intimate at all! You're so petty." Sakura was close to crying from frustration. Why couldn't he understand that she would never choose any other guy over him? That he was the one for her?

"That's not what it looked like in the photo." Itachi's voice was as bland as it ever was. She could tell he was more upset than he let on, just by the lack of emotion.

"Well, what do you want me to do? Not talk to any guy friends? Move away from any persons of the opposite gender that come within five feet of me?"

"…That sounds like a good plan."

"In your dreams."

"…"

"… Can you just come pick me up so we can talk about this?"

"Sakura, I'm at work."

"Fine. Bye."

Sakura hung up and immediately dialed another number. When a voice answered, she asked, "Hey Sasuke? Could you come to the library right now?"

After confirming that Sasuke was on his way, Sakura headed back inside. Itachi was an idiot, a big idiot. Sakura didn't know why she even liked the guy. But ten minutes later, she remembered why.

She picked up her phone before it could ring again.

"I'm outside."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Are you tired? Do you need to rest?"

"No. I'm perfectly fine," Sakura said tightly through clenched teeth. After hiking half an hour, she already felt like turning to goo. The heat didn't help. But she refused to be seen as a lazy, nonathletic braniac who only knew how to study. She would reach the top, she knew she could. Now, if only her body could catch up to her brain.

When they finally reached the top, out of the all the things they could do, he wanted to go see the turbine. Which was on an even higher peak.

"Let's go up there."

_No. No no no no—_

"Sure. Let's go."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Hey look, it's the big dipper!"

"Where?"

"Right there." Sakura raised an arm to point.

".. You sure it's not just your imagination?"

"…"

"I see it, I see it," He surrendered.

"Draco's over there too!"

"I don't see it. And I don't I want to. I hate Draco. Draco the constellation, and Draco the wizard."

"Why? Well, I guess Tom Felton IS too good looking for his own good."

Itachi ignored her and instead chose to distract her with another question.

"What about that one?"

"Which one?"

"Right above the big dipper. Three stars. It looks like a right triangle."

"Hmm… I have no idea. Let me check." She held her phone up in the direction of the constellation. After spending $1.99 on the constellation app, it had better work. She waited a few seconds for it to calibrate, but nothing. _Damn._

"Nothing?"

"Nope."

"… Let's call it Pythagoras."

Sakura laughed, not believing what he just said. "Sorry?"

"Let's call it Pythagoras. It's a right triangle, thus it's an appropriate name."

"… You really think you own the world don't you?"

"What do you mean? I already do."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sakura tossed and turned in her bed, but did not wake up, as if her body was unwilling to let her escape from her memories.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

She leaned back into his chest, quietly enjoying the gentle breeze as the sun set. This was the closest she'd ever been to him. Before today, she had sat beside him. But she had felt a bit bold, perhaps from the bit of alcohol in her system. If he minded, he didn't show. When his hands rested on her thighs, she realized that maybe he enjoyed this just as much as she did.

She turned her head around to take a good look at him, unaware that he was closer than she thought. Her lips brushed his cheek slightly, and she blushed, thinking back to the first time. Instead of moving back, she leaned forward slightly and kissed the corner of his lips. Time stopped at that moment, the moment her bottom lip came in contact with soft, silky skin. She closed her eyes, wanting to feel nothing but his lips on hers.

The moment ended and they broke apart.

The kiss couldn't be any more innocent, but she flushed and looked away from his mesmerizing eyes before he could say anything. He didn't have to though; her phone rang.

She cursed the unlucky timing of the call and concluded that the caller would not live to see tomorrow. It was her mom. Rolling her eyes while pressing the decline button, she placed her phone back down, about to turn back and face forward when he stopped her. She looked up questioningly, about to ask him what he was doing when she was cut short by his lips, this second kiss as light and innocent as the first one.

After a few seconds, he pulled back. This time, she didn't look away; she looked straight into his eyes, and saw the hesitation that was reflected in hers. She wondered what this meant, and whether or not they were going to do something about this shift in their relationship. After all, friends did not kiss each other, but she supposed they never really were friends. They were always something slightly more.

Neither of them spoke as they got into the car. She put on her seatbelt silently, listening to the click of it locking in place, and was about to place her hands in her lap when he reached out and grabbed her left wrist. He moved it down to the middle, and let go only to move his hands upwards to hold her hand, entwining his fingers with hers.

She gave his hand a light squeeze as the car started moving, the smile never fading from her face.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine."

Sakura continued to look at Itachi, but when he made no indication that his answer was not the truth, only continuing to concentrate on the road, she focused her eyes outside her window. She had visited him at the rec center on campus to surprise him and he had offered her a ride home. Somehow, within the span of an hour, his mood had gone from happy (as well he could show it, which was simply a small smile) to lemony sour. Sakura had simply taken a seat on one of the benches lined up against the wall to wait for him, when suddenly he had come over and with a curt "we're leaving", they had left.

She had bid him goodbye at her door and gone in to go through her nightly routine; shower, midnight snacks, brush up. It had been one in the morning by the time she climbed under her covers. Sakura didn't expect a call from him when he was in one of his moods, but to her surprise, not long after she got into bed her phone rang.

He sounded completely normal, and they talked about their day as usual. Sakura did not wish to pry; if he wanted her to know the reason for his sudden switch, he would tell her on his own. But he didn't. It made her wonder how bad it actually was.

The next time she checked the time it had already been half past four. She laid her ear back onto the cell that was resting on her pillow and listened. The only sound that could be heard was his quiet breathing. _Did he fall asleep? _She supposed he should have been pretty tired after playing basketball for a few hours nonstop.

She smiled to herself. "Sleepyhead.." she said, almost inaudibly, and hung up.

Sakura barely had time to find a comfortable position to sleep in for the night before her phone rang for the second time that night. She stared at it for a few seconds, dumbfounded. When she caught her senses, she made a move to pick up.

"Hello?"

"… I am not a sleepyhead."

"Pfft." Sakura held in her laugh, covering her mouth with her free hand. "Okay Itachi, okay.."

"I. Am. Not."

Sakura lied back down and listened to his soothing voice, now clear without the drowsiness and slurred words (Sakura hadn't thought it possible that an Uchiha could sound so cute).

"The sun should be rising soon."

She glanced out her bedroom window, taking note of the lighter shade of the sky. "You're right…" she paused, having second thoughts about what she was going to say next. "..Would you like to go see the sunrise?"

Silence.

"I'll be there in five."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Itachi! Over here!" Sakura waved her arms wildly in the air, trying to catch her boyfriend's attention. She had been waiting at the arrivals entrance for the past half hour having been too excited to wait at home. The thought of him coming back from Japan today plagued her mind for the past week.

She watched as her boyfriend finally caught her eye and raised a hand to greet her. He walked over leisurely, dragging his suitcase behind him. Sakura threw her arms around his waist before he had a chance to speak.

"You're finally back!" She nuzzled his chest taking in the smell of cologne—Abercrombie & Fitch. If she didn't know better, she might have thought he was an A&F model. After all, he looked like one, and smelled like one too.

Itachi let go of his luggage and wrapped his arms around her, laying his head on top of hers. "Indeed I am."

He move his left hand up her back towards the end of her hair, which was not slightly above her shoulder. "You cut it." Sakura could hear the curiosity behind his impassive tone. She missed these short phrases and the way she could read between the lines and hear what he was actually saying.

She took a moment before she replied. "Having it too long reminds me of him."

Sakura knew Itachi knew exactly whom she was talking about. It was during one of their honesty hour talks that she relayed the story about the period of time she had been harassed at her part-time job. This had happened when she was still in high school.

She had worked as a dental assistant during her high school years, wanting to take some responsibility for her own expenses. Through her mom who mentioned her friend was looking for an assistant, Sakura applied and got the job for Dr. Asuka. He was a good person, and one of the best at what he did. Her mom often complimented him and Sakura told her mom that she was very lucky to be able to work there.

But a few months after she began the job, things started happening, ones that were too well planned to be mere coincidences. One weekend when her mother was out of town, Dr. Asuka had asked her to stay behind and look over some patient files with him. She had thought nothing of it, and did as he said. They had stayed in his office until eight, and as thanks he had brought her to dinner that night. That whole night, he would not stop accidentally brushing her shoulder or her hair.

There were also times where she would be the only one available to do something he asked for, tasks that required physical contact. Eventually, she noticed that she was the only he'd ever ask to stay by his side while he operated, and to sit close to him so he knew she was paying attention on the job. The other assistants had only ever prepared the equipment.

One night, Sakura had been the last to pack up her things and leave the office. Before she left, she went into the makeshift kitchen to grab her mug—she had dropped the tumblr she used at home, so, being the tea-addict she was, she needed to bring her office mug home. As she walked across the room to reach the cabinet the mug was in, she heard footsteps behind her. "Not going home yet, Dr. Asuka?" she had said to try and avoid the awkward silence.

She was about to reach up for the cabinet door when she felt him pressed into her from behind. "Not yet, Sa-ku-ra."

He then proceeded to reach his arms around to trap her against the counter. His hands had inched up, starting from her abdomen, through the valley between her breasts and rested on her collar. Sakura glanced down and watched his fingers extend and touch her hair gently.

"This, this is what did me in. You have no idea how many times I imagine this spread on my pillow." He pressed into her even harder. "Can you feel what you do to me Sakura?"

Sakura was lucky that she was calm enough to remember the self-defense procedure her mom had once taught her (her mom had probably not known that Sakura would've had to use it on one of her close friends), and that he had been momentarily distracted by thinking he had won.

She managed to escape mostly unscathed after managing to knee him in the crotch, and ran home, forgoing the usual bus ride.

The minute Sakura got home, she had called Sasuke and after that she did not remember much. The adrenaline that had helped her turn on survival mode had left her the moment Sasuke appeared in her living room and she fell to the floor.

Needless to say, Sakura could never stand seeing her hair so long again.

Itachi had been able to lessen the fear Sakura had in growing her hair, but she still felt much more comfortable when she couldn't feel her hair on her collar.

He leaned back slightly so he could see her face, raising a hand to sweep her long bangs to the side. "I like it."

She beamed at him, even though she knew he liked it longer and he was probably only saying it because it didn't look too bad. "We should probably get you home first, you must be so jet-lagged—it's only noon here."

Itachi didn't budge when she tried to pull his luggage away. She turned to look at him. "What?"

"Lets go back home for tonight. I'll see my parents tomorrow."

Sakura was confused. "What? Why?"

"I missed you."

"So did I."

"I missed your bed. And you in it."

"… Seriously? The minute you get back? **That's** the first thing you think about?"

Itachi smirked. "Two months without sex is two months too long."

"Well guess what, my bed didn't miss you."

"My bad, I actually meant to say I missed your kitchen counter."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Are you sure it's okay for me to be here? I don't mind leaving.." Sakura whispered as she walked next to Itachi down a neighbourhood street.

It was New Year's Eve and he had brought her to a house party with some close guy friends of his—Zabuza and Deidara—and his cousin, Shisui. Zabuza's girlfriend had been there as well but she had left a few minutes prior for a party with her girlfriends. And that was also why Sakura was trying hard to convince Itachi that maybe it was better if she left.

"No. It's fine, I want you to be here."

Itachi was being stubborn about this. Why did he want her here? She didn't smoke pot. She didn't get high. Ever. Just because she did not stop him from doing it (she did not fully approve, but she was smarter than to think Itachi didn't know it was harmful to an extent), didn't mean she wanted to there when he did.

"Why?"

Itachi did not say anything as they strolled to a nearby park in the neighbourhood. It was a quarter to ten and there would be no one out; everyone was at home getting ready for the countdown and the party. Zabuza and Shisui were speaking to each other further in front while Deidara was on his phone. When they got to the park, she could see the silhouettes of two people and could tell they had already started without them, passing the joint around.

Sakura kept to Itachi's side; she did not know the two newcomers, but really she did not know the company she came with other than Itachi all that well either—she had only met Deidara and Zabuza once or twice. They sure had some weird looking friends. If she thought Deidara was an oddball looks-wise, this guy took the cake.

She could tell one of them was an Uchiha from the dark locks and deep eyes, but the other she did not recognize. He had messy silver hair that defied gravity on one side and flopped forward slightly on the other, probably because it was longer. She could not tell what he looked like since his hair had covered his left eye and he had a scarf wrapped around his neck twice, blocking the lower half of his face. Regardless, when the guy took a drag on the joint he had to pull his scarf down but Sakura still could not see due to the darkness.

Sakura's grip around Itachi's arm tightened as she felt increasingly uncomfortable here. She saw him glance at her from the corner of his eye and he patted the hands around his arm before using that same hand to take a drag.

After a few minutes and another few drags, he passed it to the nameless Uchiha, he raised a hand as if to signal he didn't want anymore and pulled Sakura a few yards away from where they were standing. Sakura did not know what was going on but she let him lead her. Itachi then began to talk.

"The fact that I wanted you there meant something." He paused momentarily. "Father is very strict with my studies and he believes it is for my wellbeing, not that I disagree. But sometimes it becomes too much even for me."

Sakura was known for being smart. She nodded as she started piecing the clues together, getting a general idea where this discussion was heading.

"He didn't approve of any of my high school friends—Zabuza, Deidara, even my own cousin. But it was the one thing I didn't let him take from me, who I surround myself with, who I spend my time with." He looked directly into her eyes at the last part. She flushed.

"I don't go against my father's wishes; I attend extra classes of his choice, I get into clubs and organizations that will allow me climb the social ladder, I even let him choose my car." _Oh, so the Audi wasn't because he liked it.. not that I'm complaining. At least his father has good taste._

"This is the one thing that I do that does. This is something that father has no idea about—it's my own way of rebelling, and stating that I am my own person, not just a doll he created to ensure success for the family. This is when I'm being only Itachi, not Uchiha Itachi." Sakura's eyes widened. This was the first time she heard about this, not the fact that his father was strict, but that Itachi did have a rebellious side and did not stand for all of his father's wishes and opinions. She smiled a little wider—she had chosen the right person.

"There is a reason that we only came after Haku left. She doesn't know that Zabuza hasn't quit, he isn't being truthful with her. But the fact that I am showing you this, and telling you this, means at this moment, I am finally unafraid to show you who I really am. Not the cool jock that was the captain of the basketball team, or the calm scholar that one every possible award. Just a son, who is living his life the way he wants to. I am showing you this because I want you to be the person who knows all sides of me, Sakura."

Before Itachi could say anything else, Sakura pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. She couldn't hold back the tears from her eyes and she knew he could feel them through his shirt. He smoothed down her hair and patted her head.

"Why're you crying silly?"

"Because no one knows. No one knows how hard you try for your father or how hard you work to gain control of your own life. And no one knows how much you sacrifice for your family, or how much of yourself you sacrifice. Except me."

Itachi smiled.

"Except you."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A single tear rolled down her face.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: I know Haku is a guy, and I'm not homophobic but it made more sense if he was a girl in this one. It was also pretty obvious who Sakura thought was a weirdo.

This chapter's the end of the memories! So the story's finally gonna start moving forward.

Thanks for reading!

- V


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 3**

The melody rang loud and clear from the phone, vibrating on the crumpled bed sheets. The sound resonated through the room until it silenced, but not before long another would sound. This occurred for a few minutes before a hand reached out from under the covers and pulled it beneath the blanket.

"Hello?" Sakura managed to mumble out. _Who the hell calls this early?_ She honestly did not give a damn who it was; they had ruined her beauty sleep on this crappy day, the only thing she had been looking forward to really.

"HEY. Wake up."

She really didn't want to deal with this right now, especially since she was still half-asleep and could hardly figure out whom this voice belonged to.

"… Who is this?"

"…"

"I know I know you. Just refresh my memory. Your voice sounds really familiar…"

"It's Temari."

_Ooooh… that explains the early call. _

"Hi Temari." Sakura was not more awake in the slightest. In fact, she got even sleepier knowing it was just Temari on the phone.

"Do you know what time it is right now?"

She didn't bother checking. "Yes. It's early."

"FYI, that's not a time."

"Oh, is that so?"

"I even waited until later to call you because I know you wouldn't be up that early, but this is over the top. I've been calling you since two hours ago. Did you really just wake up?"

"… Yes?"

"It's twelve here, sweetheart. Meaning it should be four over there."

_Shit._

"Four?" _Really? _

Sakura lifted the phone to her face and glanced at the time. 4:07pm. Huh. Times really flies… when you're sleeping. She placed the phone back to her ear.

"So it is."

"But anyways, guess what?"

Temari was from way back; she had lived next door since forever and though Temari was a few years older, she was probably Sakura's first real girlfriend, the kind you shared every secret and crush with. When Temari graduated from the local arts college, she had moved to New York and chased her dream to be a photographer. Sakura wasn't sure exactly what Temari had said, but it had something to do with a crazy job offer that was too good to turn down. But after Sakura entered second year, she moved as well—she decided to share an apartment with Itachi that was close to campus. _Not the stupidest idea I've come up with—God, I have to figure out where to go before Itachi's back. _

Right. Itachi.

Where could Sakura go now? She supposed she had enough saved from work to rent another apartment on campus, or perhaps she'd see if she could just crash with Ino.

"Hello? Earth to Sakura?"

"Oh, sorry, hey. I just have a lot of stuff on my mind."

"School hasn't been too crazy has it?"

"Not anything I can't deal with."

"That's good. … Is something up? Oh my—have you been crying?"

_How does she do that, even hundreds of miles away? _"No, no, I'm just coming down with a slight cold I think."

"… Sakura."

"No, really. Everything's fine. I just have lots to tell you when you come back to visit. Which is when by the way?" _Smooth move, Sakura. _She inwardly gave herself a pat on the back for the lack of stuttering and yawns.

"Oh! That was what I've been telling you, if only you were listening. Anyways, I think I'll be able to move back to Leaf! Permanently!"

Sakura woke up at that. "Seriously? That's great!"

"Yeah, I just got my promotion to assistant director of photography of GQ in the region." _Oh, so that was where she was working. _"I'm just preparing all the needed documents, equipment and such, so I'll probably be there by next year? But because of that, no vacation time this year."

"That's okay, you'll be here long term soon anyway. And we can still Skype and call."

"Yeah. I just called to let you know! I'm actually in the women's washroom right now so I gotta get back to work. I'll whatsapp you later!"

"For sure. Go back, before your boss catches you slacking."

"Ah, he's such a lazy bum anyway, he has no right to lecture me." Sakura imagined Temari rolling her eyes at the mention of her apparently lazy and good-for-nothing boss.

"Alright alright, just go."

"Kay, talk to you soon Sakura, bye!"

"Bye."

Sakura hung up and placed the phone on the wooden surface of her bedside table, thinking that it might have been a good idea to tell Temari her situation. But she had come to the conclusion she hadn't because deep down, she didn't believe it to be true.

After all their history together and the miracle of being interested in each other, their relationship couldn't possibly be over after just three years.

She thought over the email she had already remembered word for word by heart. There were so many thoughts in her head, so many things she wanted to say to him, to yell at him for. Sakura grabbed her phone again and started typing a reply email to him. After completing it, her hand had been hovering above the send button when she realized what she was doing.

_What the heck am I doing? I'm better than him. Why would I bother sending an email when that's exactly what pissed me off? I have better manners than that. _

She erased everything and instead sent him a message.

'Can we talk tonight?'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

'Yeah, I'm free after 7:30pm, Leaf time. Call me then.'

It was half past six when Sakura received the reply. She had told Ino earlier, because she couldn't help but frown the entire time she was out with her. An hour into their tea time, Ino had finally been fed up with her attitude, and Sakura poured everything out. She had already told her mom what had happened too, resulting in her mom tossing away the wooden dragon they had pieced together for her birthday last year. "I don't like him, so I'm throwing it away" was her logic, even after Sakura complained that she had spent four hours building it.

Her mother was clearly unimpressed with the manner he behaved, ending a three-year relationship with impersonal words. Sakura was thankful that she had such a great mom, considering the fact that her mom had loved him and treated him like her own son.

Sakura knew she wouldn't be able to speak freely at home, with her mom roaming around, so she decided to go out under the pretense of taking a stroll along the dyke. She lived five minutes away, and so she decided to really walk along the dyke, and find a bench closer to the time.

Though it was evening, the sun still shone brightly, which didn't help Sakura's mood. Sakura had thought her tears had dried up after crying so much but as she walked along on her own, her thoughts brought them out again.

She passed by the bench they had sat at to watch the sunset, and another one they had sat at to stargaze; the seat where they had sat in the middle of winter with a cup of latte, the spot where they had stopped to enjoy the view through the foliage of the trees.

Sakura stopped completely when she reached the boardwalk where they had first kissed. It immobilized her, unwilling to let her trample through the memories living in the wooden pieces and ruining this place for her forever so that she could never come back without remembering what had happened right at this moment, here.

It felt like time had stopped as well as she stood in place, gazing at the wooden seat, the railings with numerous carvings—theirs mixed in between the various hearts and names—and filling in the empty spots of her and Itachi. She remembered the various sunsets, the orange and pink hues of his face, and the warmth of his hands as he held hers tightly.

Sakura's phone rang, waking her from her daze. She checked the id. _Long distance call…? OH! _She almost dropped her phone in her haste to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

Sakura stiffened. She thought she could take hearing his voice, and that she would yell at him the first chance she gets, but her lips wouldn't move. Her eyesight blurred as oppressed tears started the moment his voice resonated through her. She hastily wiped her tears with her sleeve and sat down on the bench in her usual spot.

"How're you?"

"I'm not ba—"

A loud whistling sound interrupted him, followed by a swishing as if it was windy and something had just rushed by. Sakura couldn't retain her laughter.

"What on earth was that?"

"It was the train. They come back frequently… until midnight."

"Oh dear lord, how do you even fall asleep?"

"I'm used to it now I guess."

How was this happening? How could it seem like nothing's happened, and they were simply calling because they missed each other? That's not how Sakura felt, but for some reason she couldn't muster up the courage to speak what was on her mind. She laughed bitterly at the realization of just how love-struck she was to falter at the slightest after hearing his voice.

There was a tense pause, as she thought about what to say. Itachi probably noticed; he didn't say a word.

"Remember that first time you called me? And you told me about breaking up with that girl?"

"Yeah?"

"I kind of knew that it was gonna happen. To me."

"You know me too well, Sakura."

_Sakura, he called me by my name. _Every little thing was reminding her of that fact that she was not in a relationship with him anymore.

"Did you know I was going to call you?"

"… I thought you were going to last night."

Sakura laughed quietly. "You know me too well too.."

Itachi didn't say anything.

"Well, I wanted to call you and inform you that the next time you break up with a girl, you should probably do it in person." _Holy, did I really just say that? Did I really insinuate, right now, that he was going to have a girlfriend in the future? _

"I knew.. that if I didn't do that way, I wouldn't be able to. If I heard your voice, and you crying…"

_If you couldn't tell me in person cause of that, why tell me at all? Why? _

For a moment neither of them said anything. Sakura didn't know if he was thinking the same thing as her, but she was grateful he gave her time to think. She didn't want to mess up possibly the last phone call she'd ever have with him because she stuttered or couldn't think of a sentence that was grammatically correct.

"I, um, I felt this way too. I mean, things not being as fun, and just feeling like I didn't love you as much as before.

"I actually thought about it, wondering if I should be in a relationship when I was starting to miss being able to be close with other guys, and going to parties and all. But every time after that though passed through my mind, something happened that made me feel glad I was taken. You showing up and telling me we were going to go on a tandem biking date, or bringing me to your house for fondue. I was so glad I had someone like you in my life, someone that takes good care of me, treasures me, loves me.

"That time that we met, in the courtyard, was probably when I started loving you. And, it's just, I can't believe that I got what I wanted. And that it's already over."

Sakura breathed.

"I had naively thought there really was such a thing as forever. But clearly, things just don't last. I honestly wonder how people get married, if it's inevitable that feelings will abate. Mine didn't, really. But I guess you…"

"I love you, Sakura..."

Her breath caught.

".. But I'm not in love with you anymore."

The tears flowed with a rejuvenated current. Sakura's vision blurred immediately, but she didn't even try to stop it anymore, allowing all the hiccups and the sniffs. _Make him feel bad as I do right now, _is what she thought.

_But I guess he wouldn't even feel bad about it anymore. _

"What if I never loved you?" She said jokingly.

"... Don't go there." Sakura chuckled dryly.

"I care about you—not in the same way, but it doesn't mean I don't at all. You became the most meaningful person in my life, like family, and these past three years with you are incomparable. All the trips, all the dates and dinners, the Christmases and birthdays, I'll never forget. You gave me everything I could ever ask for; a girl who loved me for me, and not what I am."

Sakura didn't know if that made her feel better or not. She heard all the things he had said, but could only focus on particular words here and there. Gave. Loved. Became. All these past tenses that were just were they were. The past. Sakura laughed bitterly.

"It feels like I'm losing everything. My confidant, my best friend…"

"Isn't that Sasuke?"

"Did you seriously just ask that?"

"… No, I suppose not."

"I don't know how I liked an idiot like you."

"I can't always be smart, got to save it up for those who need it."

"Wow…" _I'm really going to miss this. These conversations aren't going to happen again.. _

"What."

"It's just… I'm losing everything, but you're not losing much."

"How does that even make sense."

"You know, you're, well, you. A handsome, kind-hearted, though humorless, genius. And I'm just, me. An ordinary university student who's trying to work her ass off to get into med school."

"Sakura, don't put yourself down like that. If you really were just ordinary, I would not have been in love with you."

She didn't have anything to say. No matter what she said, things wouldn't change. The only thing she could really do now was to make sure things didn't go bad between them. If **that** happened, then things would really be over.

"Did you tell anyone yet?"

"Ino.. and my mom."

"What did Ino say?"

"She hates your guts and said she was gonna go beat you up for me, so get ready for some ass-kicking."

"… As if she could."

"You'd go that far to hit a girl?"

"I wouldn't need to hit her to win."

"… This is my best friend we're talking about."

"I know."

Sakura sighed. He would never change. _This guy…_

She yelped as she felt something on her leg and jumped, nearly dropping her phone. Glancing around, she checked for the culprit. It was a mosquito. In fact, there was a lot of them flying around her. She hadn't realized the call had already gone into evening. The sun could barely be seen above the horizon and the sky took on a purple hue.

"Sakura?"

"Oh, the mosquitoes were just being irritating."

"You should go home soon, before you become unrecognizable from bug bites."

"Thanks for your concern," Sakura said dryly. She had told Itachi stories of her and mosquitoes; there must have been something sweet in her blood that attracted them for they could bite even through her thickest pair of jeans.

"Sakura, I got to go."

"Already?"

"Yeah, it's pretty late here and I have to get up early tomorrow."

Sakura didn't want to hang up, in fact she was far from it.

"… Do you think this will be the last time we ever talk?"

"I think.." Itachi paused. "I don't think it will be."

Sakura smiled slightly at that. "Okay."

"Get home soon, Sakura. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Itachi. Bye."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

a/n: Short chapter, I know. But next one will definitely make up for it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Haruno Sakura leads a very simple, uncomplicated life. She wakes up, she goes to school, she comes home, she studies, she eats, and she sleeps just to do it all over again the next day. All in all, she is not a very busy person. However, when the situation calls for it, she can be.

Ever since the fateful day six months ago, Sakura had not had a single minute to spare. She always made sure she had something to occupy her mind and hands, working overtime, attending more sorority functions, or spending an extra hour on an assignment. Without the distractions, she tended to unconsciously focus on things she would really rather forget.

Ino and Sasuke were well acquainted with this decision and took part in implementing her new rule as well. Every other day they would ask her out; for a day trip to Waterfall or the beach, and even just for some drinks amongst other things. Sakura felt blessed that she had such good friends, especially Sasuke, after their history. But the two of them had gone through too many things to end their friendship now. She felt obligated to him, as he had put up with all of her crap for over the last decade. She giggled when she thought about how uneven it was; she was definitely harder to deal with than he was, and she was willing to admit it.

But, slowly Sakura realized that she had gotten used to the distractions. Regardless of whom she was with and what she was doing, her mind would slowly drift to Itachi. It had even woken her up every so often, always at the most inconvenient of times like five in the morning.

When Sakura was awake, she would think about it. When she tried to sleep, she would dream about it. There was no way to escape the past, but Sakura didn't know if she wanted to. At this point in time, she wondered whether she really believed it was over. In the back of her mind, she had a feeling this was only a phase, and that further down the road, he would come back to her, knowing that she was and still is the perfect fit for him. It had become so deeply engraved in her mind, though she knew she shouldn't have been having those kinds of thoughts and expectations.

Her past break ups hadn't been like this. After all, she had no previous history with exes; she simply met them and got to know them a little better before they started dating. Well, it was more like when they had met, she already had a feeling they would start dating. But with Itachi, things were different. He was her best friend's older brother. She had known him for years before they got into a relationship. She can't hide from him—she can try her damndest to but eventually she'll see him if she goes to a family event with Sasuke or some other random Sasuke-related thing.

This was different because Itachi had been on her pedestal, her prince charming on a white horse. She didn't know whether he still was.

The doorbell rang, bringing Sakura out of her thoughts. She took off her apron and hung it on the hook next to the fridge before heading out of the kitchen to greet her guests. It was a Wednesday, which was the only day she, Ino, Naruto and Sasuke had off together. Thus they had started the tradition of gathering at Sakura's house for breakfast, her house being the only one that didn't have halls packed with clothes or garbage, and actually had cooking utensils.

"Morning Sakura."

"SAKURA!"

Before Sakura knew it, she had already unconsciously moved to the left, dodging a hug attack from Naruto. He fell and rolled on the floor comically, then sat up and pouted. "Sakuraaaaaaa, you never let me hug you anymore…"

"Naruto. We're twenty-four. You shouldn't be giving people attacking people for hugs anymore."

"But Sakuraaaa—"

Sasuke simply shook his head while closing Sakura's front door. "You never learn, do you? Idiot."

"HEY! Bastard, who're you calling a—"

"Sasuke!" Sakura gave Sasuke a big hug. "What's up with you these days? How was your trip? Did you meet anyone?"

Sasuke returned it, wrapping his arms around her waist. Once upon a time, she worried that he would take this gesture the wrong way, but now she was glad everything was well between them and that he knew she would always be here for him. As a friend. "It wasn't too bad. Weather was great, and as for meeting someone…"

They let go and started walking towards the kitchen while Naruto sat dejectedly on the floor, wondering why Sakura was so mean to him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So Ino's not coming today?" Sasuke asked before he took a bite of pancake.

"Yeah, she got called in for some meeting last minute so she has to go. It is her first year after all, she doesn't want to give the wrong impression."

Ino was the last person Sakura thought would decide to become a researcher. Considering all the times she complained about TAs and professors, Sakura assumed she would've been done with school after graduation. But clearly, she was wrong.

It sounded horrible but Sakura was glad Ino couldn't make it today. These past six months, Ino had smothered her and tried to help in her own way (which included a lot of shopping sprees and spa days). Sakura was grateful, just like how she was grateful for Naruto being there for her as well, but Sasuke was really the only one who understood her to the core. He always knew what to say, what to do, and what not to do. He was her go-to-guy, the one she could depend on through anything._ Though he wasn't always the one…_

Sakura had felt guilty about Sasuke at one point. When she had problems with Itachi, she hadn't wanted to talk to Sasuke about it, but she had no one else. Naruto didn't understand, Ino would've been Ino, and Temari was halfway across the world. Eventually, he became fed up with the tension between him and Sakura that he had dragged her from her work and drove until he was in the middle of nowhere before he stopped and finally demanded that she tell him what was wrong. After that day, Sakura realized that no matter what happens between them, he would still be there, her pillar of support. And so, she broke down and they talked for hours.

After so long, she had finally come to peace with the fact that she had something with Sasuke that she couldn't find in any other.

So, she was glad Ino wasn't here today and that she could spend some quality time with Sasuke (and Naruto). She smiled to herself.

"Sakura, is there any more bacon?"

"Of course, Naruto. I cooked a lot just for you."

Naruto scurried back into the kitchen to come back with seconds. They had been sitting on the couches in the living room and watching NBA reruns on the TV. Sakura had never been interested in watching sports, though she played a few. The only thing she had known about basketball was that the league was called NBA, and she didn't even remember what it stood for.

"So Sasuke, what was it you were saying about meeting someone?" Sakura asked slyly.

Sasuke flushed. _Oh my… already? _

"She's just a girl from the Suna site for my dad's company."

Sakura could tell he wasn't giving away everything so she pried even further. "Just a girl? Is she pretty?"

".. I don't know what you would consider pretty."

"Sasuke, just answer the question."

"..Yes."

Sakura beamed. She knew something was up, and she had finally gotten the answer. It was great that Sasuke was interested in someone, someone who is hopefully right for him and will make him happy.

"Are you okay, though?"

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"You know, the whole … break-up thing. Are you sure it's okay to talk about my relationships and things?" Sasuke hesitated in mentioning it, knowing Sakura might become emotional.

"Of course it's fine. I can't be more happy for you, Sasuke!"

She could tell Sasuke was a bit more relaxed after she affirmed that she was dealing with her situation well. Most people wouldn't after all; she was… special. Yes, she did think about it all the time, and yes, she was upset about it, but since that day, she could count the number of times she had cried about it on one hand. There were only a few days that she'd had it so bad she had broken down, but other than that she let it go and focused on other things.

"I did see him once though."

Sasuke turned to look at her, clearly surprised. She did suppose that she didn't expect to, after all if Itachi wanted to avoid someone, he really did.

A few weeks ago, she had stayed up late one night, editing an assignment for her lit class and hadn't finished until two in the morning. Glad that she was finally in her bed, Sakura had tried to sleep but had woken up twice. She was the type of person who had a hard time falling asleep once she was awake so needless to say she slept horribly. Thus the dark circles under her eyes, the messy bun, and scrubbiness of her outfit—red rainboots with black leggings and a lapis blue American Apparel zip-up (Sakura considered this the limit of how scrub she could be; any worse was unacceptable).

So she had dropped by the Starbucks on campus to grab a caffeine boost that would get her through the rest of the day. It was very busy for a Tuesday morning and there were many people in line so a worker had walked along the line asking for pre-orders. She had been so unfocused that she didn't even notice when the employee had asked her thrice for her order. A voice broke her out of her daze.

"Grande earl grey latte with skim milk for the lady and a grande pike place in a venti cup for me. Thanks."

How did this person know what she would order? Is he a mind reader? She realized she recognized this voice. It sounded so familiar, but she was so tired she couldn't place it, until she turned around and looked into a pair of eyes that she had wanted to erase from her mind.

"Itachi…"

"Hello, Sakura."

Of course it was him. Who else would know exactly what she ordered? _He still remembered the little things like this… _

She didn't think she would run into him on campus of all places; he was in residency after all. As if he read her mind, he said, "I just have some business with the graduating class this year at LSC*. I haven't been to campus in months." _So he's seriously a mind reader now too?_

"Ah, I see. How's residency going for you?"

"It's been alright. The hours aren't the most convenient but other than that, it has been really interesting."

They moved up in the line as they chit-chatted. Five minutes later they reached the till. Sakura made a move to grab her wallet from her bag when Itachi had already given them his card. "Charge the earl grey and the pike place on me."

"Oh, no no, I can—"

Itachi simply gave a small smile and replied with a "It's okay, Sakura. My treat."

Sakura had been surprised at the amount of courtesy Itachi had displayed that morning. Well, she supposed that it was in his nature to be a gentleman, but it still surprised her no less.

"Of course, he's always like that… but lately he's become more distant. Probably cause I see you so much," Sasuke frowned, "but there shouldn't be a need for that, both of you are adults and can be mature about this. Clearly."

"It's okay Sasuke, I'm good. I'm okay with seeing him every now and then."

"I hope so, Sakura. I know you'll be able to get through this." He'll always have a soft spot for her.

"I know." Sakura smiled back.

When Sasuke didn't say anything else, Sakura glanced down and noticed him fidgeting with his hands. Sasuke sat there nearly motionless, only his eyes moving back and forth, looking at all the little things the room contained. There was something else he wanted to say, and Sakura thought she knew what it was but she'd wait for him to say it.

"So.. you know how we made plans to go clubbing next Tuesday night at Yin's?"

_Aaah… so this was what was on his mind. _"Yeah? You won't be able to make it?"

"Yeah… I'm going back to Suna with my dad… and I might not be able to make it to any other clubbing nights."

"Oh Sasuke, you're such a sweetheart. Go sweep that girl off her feet! Just make sure you bring her back so we can officially meet her."

Sasuke's mouth curved up into a rare smile, one that made it worth putting with him for. "Thanks Sakura. That means a lot."

"Don't thank me now. I still don't approve of her yet you know," Sakura joked, though she was serious about the girl having to meet her approval.

"Of course. I'd like to think that my standards are up there with yours."

Sakura beamed at him, getting ready to get up. "I should probably check on Naruto. He's been gone for a while…"

When she walked into the kitchen, she found more than half the food gone from the plates, and one Naruto lying on the floor, asleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sakura was awake but she didn't open her eyes. Instead, she covered her head with her pillow. Even without opening her eyes she could tell it wasn't the right time for her to wake up. She felt too tired to move, and it was way too bright. After a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts at falling back asleep, she finally checked the time. 6:00am. _Ugh… great._

She had gone to bed late last night after making the poor decision of finishing the latest season of the Vampire Diaries. It was at the end of spring break when Temari had told her about it and got her to start watching. And boy, did she watch. Sakura had watched every spare minute she had and slept late into the night, passed out on her desk. Three hours into her sleep, she had woken up with an aching neck, so she moved to her bed without even changing out of her clothes. Damon Salvatore was just too hard to resist. It had become her guilty pleasure.

Somehow she had woken up after four hours of sleep. Sakura knew why though; she had been dreaming about Itachi. Lately the dreams occurred more often; dreams about past memories, dreams about what could've been, and nightmares about the what ifs of their relationship.

Ever since the breakup, Sakura had tried to be even happier than when she was with Itachi. She had gone on an extended trip to Sand to visit Gaara, Temari's younger brother (and consequently, her little brother). After Sakura told him about the breakup, he had threatened to mess Itachi up so bad that she wouldn't have been able to recognize him afterwards. Sakura immediately dismissed the idea and moved on to happier topics.

She had gotten her alternative dream job, working at a bookstore. Barnes & Noble had hired her as a customer experience representative at the Leaf location. What more could she ask for? She had good hours with good pay, and she as surrounded by shelves and shelves of new, unexplored books.

Right after the break-up, Ino had given her an hour lecture about the clubbing industry of Leaf, and for the first time in her life, Sakura had gone. It had become such a regular occurrence that sometimes, Sakura would open her door, expecting Ino outside in her usual clubbing attire, and Ino would be there, this whole thing happening with no prior planning or calls involved. Whereas before, parties and drinking were kept to a minimum, now it alcohol had become a staple in her diet (though she insisted that she was not an alcoholic by any means).

The number of guys she had hooked up with was as many as the amount of books she's read in her whole university life, and it just kept increasing. She couldn't help it. It made her feel good, feel wanted, feel cherished. But, she had never gone beyond making out and grinding it out on the dance floor. They had been the "guy(s) for the evening", and every time, she imagined it to be a built figure with silky black hair and red eyes.

Sakura had been kidding herself; how in the world would she be able to kiss other men without thinking of and comparing it to kissing him? There was not single man, out of all them, that could ever come close to him, not a single that she had ever thought that she would date beyond the dance floor. This was not healthy…

She couldn't even remember why she had enjoyed clubbing in the first place. _Ah, never mind. I do; it was for the free drinks. _

Sakura rubbed her eyes before moving her hand to her forehead and then temple. Maybe staying up after some all nighters wasn't the best idea, no matter how enticing Ian Somerhalder was.

She checked her clock again. 6:15am.

Sakura sighed. There as no way she would be able to fall asleep again after being awake enough to think. She turned her head slightly and glanced outside. It was sunny and bright out, though a bit on the chilly side—the branches of the tree outside her house was swaying back and forth from the wind.

She lied back down on her bed with a plop, and closed her eyes. _What shall I do…? At six in the morning. _

Who was she kidding? She missed Itachi. A lot.

Sakura would think about him when she ate steak with red wine on her own—he had always paired it with red wine.

Sakura would think about him when she's walking along the dyke after dinner, and she sees the turbine at the top of the mountain range—the stupid thing that made her ride the ski lift.

Sakura would think about him when she sees the color red—it was his favorite color.

Sakura would think about him when she was studying at a library on campus—and remember which cubicles she and him sat at day after day on their study dates.

Sakura would think about him when she ordered her Starbucks—he was the one who got her addicted to caffeine.

Sakura would think about him when she sees a black Audi on the street—only one existed in her mind.

Sakura would think about him when she cleans up her room—and finds the black iron man shirt he got her from Japan.

Sakura would think about him when. That sentence could be finished in so many ways, most of them good. Some bad, but mostly good.

This breakup had her really thinking about what she wanted to do in life. Sakura has yet to find the answer but she felt like in this moment she had a clear head and an open mind. She wanted to experience all the little things that would bring a smile to her face, and figure out what she could do to bring smile to others.

And… that may possibly be done at the park.

She sat up quickly. _A walk sounds like a good idea. _

Sakura walked out of her room, in her pajamas (shorts and a t-shirt; ones that did not look like pjs, thankfully), grabbed her keys and phone, and headed for the front door.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sakura adjusted her grizzlies cap as she hopped over the stone steps in the stream. Walking through Central Park had become somewhat of a habit for her since last summer. The stroll had been her chosen method of meditation, ambling along the path without paying attention to where she was heading; it calmed her when she listened to the birds chirp, and only the birds. She had gotten used to waking up at a horrific hour for her ritual—usually at six—as it was the perfect time; she could count the number of people she crosses on both hands. It was calm, quiet and serene, allowing her to prepare her mind for the day.

Central Park, like its name, was at the center of Leaf, surrounded by high rises and stores. It took up twenty blocks and made for a very good running path. Sakura always took the same one; she started from the east side and headed northwest along the stream towards the lake, then headed north from the west side, curving at the north end of the park and back towards the lake, making a figure eight path.

It had become so habitual Sakura would find herself in the park somewhere without knowing how she got there on more than one occasion.

As she meandered through the trees, her mind drifted to the past. It had been two years.

The clubbing and hooking up phase right after the breakup left as quickly as it came. The month that followed it involved a lot of reminiscing and rediscovering herself; why on earth had she done that? It had provided an escape; she could create an alternate identity, and no would know, or care. She could party all she wanted, make out all she wanted, and do anything. Anything that could help her forget reality.

She paid no heed to where here feet led her; they had walked the same path too many times to stray from it, even unconsciously.

In these past two years, she had gone from a naïve girl pretending to be mature, to (and she cringes when she thinks of this) a trashy-bordering-slutty party girl, to a calm, work- and school-oriented student, to now. Except she didn't know what she was now.

It felt like the further she advances in life, the less she's confident about herself. Sure, Sakura knows she's going to be a doctor. She has a mom who loves her very dearly and friends who would conquer the world for her. But what else did she know about herself that was for certain? That she could remember every single word and sentence she reads? That she has pink hair and green eyes?

Many mornings of walking through the park had been spent on pondering these obscure thoughts and questions that wander through her mind repeatedly.

A squirrel scurrying across the path and into a bush caught her attention. Sakura stopped and watched it appear on the other side and look around a little before climbing up a tree. Animals were lucky; they had their natural instincts and knew exactly what their role in life was. Sakura wasn't sure of her own.

After a few moments, Sakura continued casually on her way. She was in a shaded area with lots of trees and it was slightly chilly so she quickened her pace to try and get the blood pumping through her body; she had assumed it would be warmer as it was the peak of summer and July had always been hot. She tucked her loose tank into her Hollister shorts, wanting to retain as much warmth as possible. It wasn't the greatest day to wear a tank top with a sports bra which showed as much skin as it was possible without being inappropriate.

Once Sakura was in the sun again, she slowed down and returned to her leisurely pace. It was chilly in the shade, but once you got out of the trees it was very warm with the sun beating down on you; there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

Sakura went back to her pondering.

How did people meet? How did you know who the right person is? Clearly, Sakura hasn't met the right one yet; she hasn't dated in two years. Not that she was searching through people for someone, but there has been no one she was interested in enough to start a relationship with. Perhaps she would never find him; perhaps it might even be a "her" (though Sakura didn't go there).

If her life was a Japanese drama, the right one would be right around the corner, and the entire audience would know. They would cheer for her and the male lead while watching the whole thing and wait for them to have an inevitable happily ever after.

But this was real life, reality. You don't know if the right person is around the corner or halfway around the world; you just live it day by day and hope something extraordinary happens to someone as ordinary as you. Sakura believed she was ready to accept that.

A bark interrupted her train of thought, and she felt something rub against her leg. She looked down and noticed a small pug seated on her foot. _Oh! It's so cute! _

Sakura bent her legs and reached out her hands to hold the dog in her arms. He was a bit pudgy with droopy eyes. She felt the dog relax in her arm as he wagged his tail. Sakura balanced him in one arm and pulled him close to her body, as she stroked his head gently. She had always wanted a dog, but her Mom didn't like animals (which made no sense at all) and Itachi was allergic so she had never been able to get one. She smiled as she watched the pug close his eyes and lay his head down on her forearm.

_Click_.

Sakura looked up into a camera lens. She had almost been startled to the point of losing her balance, but she caught herself at the last second. The man slowly lowered the lens and uncovered his face. The first thing Sakura saw was his mismatched eyes—one light grey, the other dark red. Dark red. Itachi's dark red.

The stranger had a thick scarf wrapped around his neck, masking the lower half of his face. But it was his hair that Sakura had noticed; it was a light grey, not unlike his eyes. Sakura had been so surprised, she unconsciously stood up and took a step back to fully look at him. He was kneeling a few feet away on the grass in his clean-cut slacks and striped long-sleeve, his arms half-extended with a Nikon camera in hand.

They each stayed in their respective spots while Sakura tried to figure out where she had seen him before. She never forgot a face, but she just couldn't place where he was from. The stranger finally broke eye contact.

"Pakkun, you shouldn't be wondering off and cozying up to strangers."

His voice was a perfect mix between husky and smooth, and left Sakura dumbfounded. Why did he sound like he came out of GQ?

"Sorry, he likes running off when I take him out in the mornings. It's the only time he gets outside."

Sakura finally found her voice and managed to reply, "No problem, I love dogs."

He gave a small smile—at least Sakura thought so because his eyes had crinkled into a crescent shape—and proceeded to walk over to her and lift the small pug out of her arms.

"You like taking photos?" Sakura asked.

"I guess you could say that. It's not often I'm out at this hour though. I usually wake up at noon," he replied in a light tone.

Sakura concurred. Except she hasn't been for the last year. "Explains why I've never seen you; I wake up everyday and come at this time."

"Then today must be my lucky day," he chuckled.

Sakura blushed at his words. It was rare that someone could get it out of her, or maybe she was just too used to the mix of brazen and mild personalities of her close guy friends.

Sakura seemed to be able to tell when he changed his expression; now, his right eye was smaller than his left. He probably has a crooked smile. _Never thought I would find that attractive…_

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Haruno Sakura."

"Well, Miss Sakura, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance."

"As am I to you."

He adjusted his scarf after putting the strap of his Nikon around his neck. It was a beautiful, silky green scarf, one that Sakura has actually seen in an expensive, branded store. She was not one to wear brands, but she had noticed it in the window of the store because of her obsession with scarves; she could probably fill a whole closet with her collection.

Suddenly, the realization that she had made a slight detour from her usual so the walk might've taken longer than usual hit her. She checked her watch for the time. It was almost eight already.

"Sorry, but I have work at nine so I should be going back now. Delighted to make your acquaintance."

Sakura wished to stay and converse with Kakashi more; it was not often she met someone that she could talk to easily. But she really did have to go. She had already stayed an extra ten minutes.

"Until next time then, Sakura."

She loved the way her name rolled off his tongue. Sakura. With the slight emphasis on the first syllable of her name and a light curl to the end.

"See you later, Kakashi."

Sakura gave him a quick smile and turned to continue on her path back to her apartment complex. She resisted the urge to turn around and take a last look at him. Hatake Kakashi. That was a name she wouldn't forget.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, or "hitsuzen"**, but whatever it was, Sakura hoped this wasn't the last time she saw Hatake Kakashi.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Hitsuzen: A naturally foreordained event; A state in which other outcomes are impossible

A/N: And he finally appears! It was just a small part but more to come. That last part was a reference to Tsubasa. If you haven't heard of it, do give it a read. It is amaaazing.

Until next time!

-V


End file.
